


Just a Nightmare, Baby

by prouvaireafterdark



Series: Through the Broken Glass and Morning Light [1]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex Manes Deserves Nice Things, Alex Manes Needs a Hug, Crying, Established Relationship, Fix-It, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, M/M, Michael Guerin Loves Alex Manes, Nightmares, Not Canon Compliant, end of fucking story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:47:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23765581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prouvaireafterdark/pseuds/prouvaireafterdark
Summary: Alex bolts upright in bed, heart hammering in his chest. He hears a sleepy groan from somewhere to his right. A quick look confirms there’s only one set of curls peeking out above the comforter. Just a dream, then. It was just a dream.Jesus Christ,he thinks, swallowing the bile in his throat.“Just a nightmare, baby,” Michael murmurs drowsily, the way he always does when Alex wakes in the middle of the night. “You’re safe, I’m here.”***An AU where That Scene in 2x06 was just a nightmare and Alex gets all the love he deserves.
Relationships: (in a dream though because I'm not a fucking sadist), Maria DeLuca/Michael Guerin/Alex Manes, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Series: Through the Broken Glass and Morning Light [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755391
Comments: 52
Kudos: 259





	Just a Nightmare, Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, here’s how I’ve decided to process this train wreck of character assassinations and poor writing decisions. 
> 
> I hope it’s what some of you need right now 💜

Alex bolts upright in bed, heart hammering in his chest. He hears a sleepy groan from somewhere to his right. A quick look confirms there’s only one set of curls peeking out above the comforter. Just a dream, then. It was just a dream.

 _Jesus Christ_ , he thinks, swallowing the bile in his throat.

“Just a nightmare, baby,” Michael murmurs drowsily, the way he always does when Alex wakes in the middle of the night. “You’re safe, I’m here.”

Alex knows he is. He knows everything is fine, that Michael wouldn’t put him through what his own brain did, but he flinches all the same when he feels Michael’s hand against his side.

Michael mumbles a quick apology and moves to take his hand back, but the thought of Michael pulling away from him is one he _cannot_ deal with right now. He grabs Michael’s hand in his a little too tightly, pressing once-ruined fingers back into his skin.

“Sorry,” he says, once he realizes, and relaxes his hold.

“Hey,” Michael whispers into the dark. “You okay?”

Tears spring to Alex’s eyes then, thick and inexorable. He doesn’t make a sound, but a teardrop hitting the comforter betrays him.

The sheets rustle as Michael sits up and turns on the lamp on his side of the bed. Michael leans closer, shifting to see his face.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay,” he soothes, looking a little helpless as he watches Alex struggle against his silent tears. “Is there something I can do? Can I hold you?”

“Please,” Alex gasps.

He doesn’t realize he’s trembling until Michael wraps his arms around him and pulls them back down onto the mattress. Alex tucks himself against Michael’s chest and focuses on his breathing.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, a few minutes later when Alex has calmed down.

He doesn’t. He _really_ doesn’t, but what he doesn’t want _more_ is to let this fester like a wound inside him. They’ve done the miscommunication and secrets thing. It’s not a good look on them.

“I don’t think I can handle more than the cliff-notes right now.”

“Whatever you want to share,” Michael says, smoothing his hand up and down Alex’s spine.

“I dreamed you were dating Maria and pulled me into a threesome,” he mumbles into Michael’s shirt.

Michael’s shocked silence lasts a solid few seconds.

“Well _that’s_ definitely not what I expected,” he says when he regains proper brain function.

Alex laughs, but it’s not a happy one. “Yeah, you and me both.”

“Was there, like, context for that or—?”

Alex shrugs. “Probably. All I remember is I didn’t want to be there.”

Michael’s voice is deadly serious when he asks, “Are you saying we—“

Alex cuts him off, not wanting to hear where it sounds like he’s going, “I’m saying I’d do anything to give you what you want and apparently my brain decided to manifest that in the most fucked up way possible.”

“I’m sorry,” Michael says, holding him closer and dropping a kiss to the crown of his head.

Alex swallows. “There’s more.”

“Jesus,” Michael sighs. “What else?”

A lot, if he’s honest. His therapist is going to have her work cut out for her later, but there’s only one part of the nightmare he’s fixated on right now. 

“After…” he starts, but his voice wobbles a little so he pauses to take a fortifying breath before he continues, “When it was over, you didn’t want me anymore. You chose her.”

Michael’s palm, so soothing on his back, stops for a tense minute before Alex feels himself being rolled onto his back.

“I will _never_ not want you, Alex,” he says, hovering above him with an intense look in his eyes. “I chose _you_. I love _you_.”

“I know,” he says, vision blurring with tears. “I love you too.”

“Good,” he sighs in relief, leaning down to kiss his forehead tenderly. “Because when I stand in front of all of our friends next month and promise to love and cherish you ‘in sickness and in health, til death do us part,’ I need you to know that that’s a job I take very seriously.”

At the mention of their wedding, Alex barely suppresses a sob. Alex pulls Michael down more firmly on top of him, pressing their chests together as he wraps one arm around Michael’s shoulders and the other across his lower back.

“I love you,” Alex whispers again, overwhelmed tears leaking from his eyes. Michael kisses him, soft and so sweet, as if he’s afraid Alex will break under too much pressure, and he’s right, he’s _right_ —Alex feels like he’s about to shake apart at the seams.

“What do you need?” Michael asks gently when he pulls back. “I’ll give you anything.”

Alex swallows the whimper he feels in the back of his throat.

“Just don’t let me go,” he pleads.

“Never again,” Michael says, and kisses his cheek. “ _Never_ again.”

Alex buries his face in the side of Michael’s neck, the scent of rain filling his lungs. He can feel Michael’s heartbeat against his chest, the impossible warmth of his skin beneath the fabric of their shirts, and the love that Michael has for him with every breath he takes. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you need to talk, you can find me on Tumblr [@prouvaireafterdark](https://prouvaireafterdark.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Take care of yourselves 💜


End file.
